Colorado Eagles focus on team concept

Hard work, teamwork are Stewart's driving points

By Adam Dunivan Sports Writer

Posted:
01/31/2013 08:18:57 PM MST

Kevin Ulanski and the rest of the Colorado Eagles continue to emphasize getting through some rough patches as a team, a concept spurred on by head coach Chris Stewart. With a young squad pulling a lot of weight, Stewart said it s important for guys to lean on each other.
(Jenny Sparks)

Chris Stewart is not in the business of nurturing. Just ask a veteran like Kevin Ulanski.

However, the Colorado Eagles bench boss also knows there is a fine line between driving home a point and driving a player's confidence in the ground. The balance is something he has to deal with every morning, especially practices such as Wednesday's that might have been lacking in some areas.

Skating drills back and forth and around the ice meant he wasn't happy with what the team was doing during systems drills, but as they gathered at center ice for a final stretch, he talked to his team about the rest of the season.

Two big words -- hard work and teamwork -- popped up frequently, while the entire practice session struck a chord with Ulanski.

"It sucks going through practice like that but I think it brings the team closer together. Really puts it in your head that if you work harder in the games, you're going to see success and the practices won't be like that," Ulanski said as the squad was preparing to leave for a weekend trip to Bakersfield and Las Vegas. "I think everybody got the message, and hopefully everyone will want to work as hard the next couple of games."

With a record of 20-20-1-2, their 43 points putting them in fifth place in the Western Conference but just four points ahead of eighth-place Utah, Stewart wants his young players to be ready for the battles ahead. For him, that means instilling confidence and not fear. He won't call out individual players to the media and rarely will do so in front of the team, and there is a reason.

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"You want to make sure they continue to work hard, but they can't get into a spot where they feel like they're on an island by themselves and don't want to make any mistakes," Stewart said. "It's important to play with confidence and play so you're playing in a positive manner and not out of fear. Fear is a bad motivator in my opinion.

"What they need to do is continue to work hard and continue to battle and support each other as a team. We as a team have been very strong that way, stuck together through thick and thin, and that's good to see. That's how you're going to get better."

The standings in the West continue to thicken up, and the Eagles should be paying at least a little attention to the back half of the standings. That is why games like the ones they face against the Condors this weekend (tonight and Saturday, both 8 p.m. starts) are important. Lose a couple points to a lesser-quality team, you're bound to regret it later.

Luckily, the Eagles haven't fumbled against the Condors yet, sweeping them in a three-game set at the Budweiser Events Center earlier this season. But Bakersfield ended January with 13 points earned, more than any other month.

"We're going to have to be on our game, because they've been playing some pretty good hockey," Jason Beatty said. "We're going to go in there with expectations high so we can turn this thing in the right direction."

The team will bus to Las Vegas where distractions will abound. Not only is it Super Bowl weekend -- Stewart said there will be an organized team event to watch the big game somewhere -- but the game against the Wranglers won't start until 9 p.m. local time. That's because the often-comical PR reps for Las Vegas have titled Monday night "18-and-Over Night", with promotions geared toward an adults-only audience.

Las Vegas will also be wearing jerseys depicting bare chests with tattoos reminiscent of T-shirts you'd find at a tourist shop.

Those little things can throw a team off, but Stewart said the guys have their minds in order.

Of note, the Eagles' Devin DiDiomete was called up to Chicago of the AHL on loan Thursday, leaving the team short a forward. DiDiomete has been suspended the past four games.